The 2014 health coverage eliminates any reference to coverage for "domestic partners" - coverage that had been previously offered to employees when they worked for U of L before they became employees of KentuckyOne Health under the partnership that now runs the hospital.

The rest of U of L's employees still have access to such health coverage.

But in convoluted wording only a canon lawyer could decipher, the KentuckyOne plan strongly implies that coverage no longer exists at the hospital.

Only upon further digging do employees learn the coverage may be available to another adult dependent of the employee seeking insurance, though the language of the health plan doesn't exactly make that clear, stating "a spouse is defined as a legal marriage of individuals of the opposite sex."

And the plan imposes strange new limits on birth control, refusing to cover vasectomies for male employees though birth control and sterilization services for women are covered through separate arrangements through other insurers. (A hospital spokesman said that's because the Affordable Care Act does not require coverage for vasectomies).

The changes come under the first year of the public hospital's partnership with KentuckyOne which now manages U of L Hospital under an agreement finalized this year. The majority owner of KentuckyOne happens to be Catholic Health Initiatives, which clearly is imposing Catholic values about birth control and marriage on the employees of what remains a public hospital.

The partnership - which U of L insisted was essential for more resources and operating funds - has been hugely controversial with advocates deeply concerned that patient access to services such as birth control and sterilization would be restricted.

In fact, Gov. Steve Beshear rejected the first attempted merger of U of L Hospital with several entities to be run by the Catholic organization.

So last year, U of L Hospital announced a "partnership" with KentuckyOne it insisted would protect the rights of women patients seeking certain services by creating a separate "Center for Women and Infants."

But KentuckyOne is not offering those rights - or respect - to same-sex couples.

Advocates and legal experts find this disturbing, which it is.

Among them is Kentucky Attorney General Jack Conway who recalls Catholic Health agreeing to offer the same level of health coverage to hospital employees although it is not part of the legal agreement.

Beverly Glascock, a lawyer and former nurse, said she believes the change in wording is meant to confuse and discourage people in same-sex relationships.

"It's clear this company does not want to cover domestic partner benefits," she said.

A U of L spokesman on Monday told The Courier-Journal, "We expect KentuckyOne to live up to all of their agreements."

That's good, because U of L needs to try to ensure hospital employees have the same rights and benefits as other U of L workers.

And if that fails, Kentucky officials should step in and ensure the public hospital is being run in the public interest.

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Editorial | What about U of L hospital workers?

Amidst the furor over whether patient care would be limited by the University of Louisville Hospital's partnership with a Roman Catholic-managed health group, it appears something got left out.